Jennie was purchased from a pet store for way too much money. She was
everything they say you should not buy, a typical puppymill casualty.
Lethargic, not breathing strongly, patchy hair loss areas on her
underside. A sad, sickly little girl. I loved her the moment I saw
her, there were no other puppies in my vision. We bought her, took her
home.

She was sickly, took her to the vet, fluid on her lungs. Called the
pet store and complained about my expenses. They offered another dog.
Beagles are not fighters, I'll never forget them saying. We'll give
you another one.

No!No!No! My Jennie! It was almost 3 months worth of antibiotics when
my vet said to me, I wish I could just go in there and suck out all
the fluid, but I can't. And I said, I will take over now. No more
antibiotics.

My Jennie. Every hour on the hour, for the next 6 weeks, I put
dropperfuls of seriously bad tasting herbal concoctions down her
throat. Dropper by dropper, as I held her in my arms, or she just sat
there in front of me, and she swallowed. Not a fighter they said.

And then it happened, she got so much worse. She couldn't breathe, she
just lay there. Oh how I cried, at least she will die in my arms. But
that was not to be. It was a Healing Crisis, and it lasted 3 days,
just like they say it should. And on the fourth morning she was
healed. It was gone. She was well. She fought through the crisis, we
fought together. Not a fighter they said. And I said, Show 'em Jennie!

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It was only about 6 months later we were out in the Las Vegas desert
with Jennie and her beagle friend Motley and they were digging up that
chaparral. Dig Dig Dig Motley! Oh they had fun. And I had a camera and
leaned in and got pictures and we were all covered in dust.

About 6 weeks later both Jennie and Motley were both a little
lethargic. Jennie gave a little cough, once. Motley gave a little
cough, once. It was Valley Fever, Coccidiomycosis, I had it too I
found out later. suddenly. They both had solid diagnoses and Jennie's
left lung had collapsed. We scheduled an appointment with a surgeon,
to talk about a lungectomy. But we didn't go.

No!No!No! My Jennie! Give me 30 days I said. If we go backwards I will
re-schedule. And we started again. Horrible tasting stuff on a very
regular schedule. Over time Motley improved, his titers went down, he
just got better, started to pick up his energy. He hated my witches
brew. But Jennie, she was a case study.

My vets took copious notes on my protocols, including every little
change I made. To start we took x-rays every 2 months, then every 3
months, and full bloodwork each time. In one year the lung that was
diagnosed as "dead" had re-inflated. Jennie had full use of both
lungs. No surgery, no horrible anti-fungal meds. Show 'em Jennie!

But her titers didn't come down. When the immune system fights so hard
and gets nowhere, which is what happens in Valley Fever, then it works
itself up into exhaustion. And the titers keep going up even though
the patient appears better, just a little lethargic, the key. Oh what
a fighter my Jennie! In the end her titers were so high (1:128) they were
dangerous and finally I put her on meds.

Over time I changed dosages, and then changed meds altogether. My very
astounded and cooperative vets just prescribed what I told them I
wanted, as I researched, and trusted my intuition on the medicine
choices. Jennie's titers have come down. Way down. This last titer
test a few months ago was the victory we had been working towards and
once again I say Show 'em Jennie!

Jennie will be on those meds for life. We didn't expect her to live
very long. Maybe another couple of years at best. She was weak from
the start and then the Valley Fever, and then living on anti-fungal
drugs.

But Jennie is 7 years old today. She's the picture of health. Mostly a
quiet girl, she is the still the alpha dog of a pack of 16. When
Jennie stands up everyone takes notice. She leads the family howl and
gives the hip to anyone standing in her space. No-one messes with
Jennie. And if Jennie wants to play, everyone is ready.

Jennie is a study in complimentary medicine. I was so afraid of the
anti-fungal drugs at first, she was so weak. I was more afraid of the
drugs than the condition. Indeed, with good reason. When her lung was
healed and she was strong again she was more able to cope with the
awful anti-fungal drugs. And still does today and will for all her
days. Now that she is dependent on the drug it is harder to withdraw
it than to deal with the drug itself. This natural healer opts for the
drug.

As for Jennie, what a fighter. I said Show 'em Jennie, and she did. My
vets in Vegas have shared her history with other vets. This is how
medicine should be. Say Happy Birthday Jennie! Say Show 'em Jennie!
For many years to come.

Jennie's story of hope continues, as we celebrated her 12th birthday in November 2013. She still 'aroooo's' with the other beagles, a strong yet quiet little voice. Jennie still rules the pack and gives the hip to her vf brother Motley in play. Every day is a celebration for Jennie. She remains on fluconazole 50mg per day, once a day, and we still say Show 'Em Jennie as the rest of the pack joins in the howl. This month marks 12 years that Jennie has been with us.